CBI opposes bail plea of Partha in job scam

Kolkata: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday opposed the bail petition of former state education minister Partha Chatterjee, who remains in judicial custody as one of the prime accused in the money-for-job scandal.

Appearing before the court of Justice Suvra Ghosh, senior CBI counsel Dhiraj Trivedi alleged that Chatterjee had handed over a list of 321 names for recruitment as teachers in state-run schools to his officer on special duty, Prabir Banerjee.

Of these, 134 candidates reportedly carried “VVIP recommendations” and were recruited despite having failed the School Service Commission examination. The claim surfaced from a handwritten letter said to be by Chatterjee, now in the possession of witness number 28, Suparna Niyogi. Investigators were told that Banerjee had given her the letter for photocopying. Trivedi argued that all witnesses in the case are government employees and could be influenced by the accused if he is released. The court will hear the matter again on September 15.

The CBI also resisted the bail prayer of another accused, Sujay Krishna Bhadra, citing evidence tampering. According to the agency, Bhadra had deleted emails sent by agents including Kuntal Ghosh, Aurobinda Roy and Dipak Biswas, the latter two being witnesses. One of the deleted communications, still available with Biswas, contained details of 150 candidates who allegedly paid money. Another trail revealed 85 more names, of which 10 secured primary teacher posts.

The court extended Bhadra’s interim bail till September 30 and scheduled his next bail hearing for November 4.